Milan, the tender for the Metro 1 extension is cancelled

The maxi-tender for the extension of Milan's Metro 1, which should connect the current Bisceglie terminus to the Baggio district, in the western part of the city, one of the most densely populated areas of the Lombard capital and most in need of a fast means of transport, ends with a single 'null' bid.

The auction base indicated by the Municipality of Milan, of around 500 million (433 million plus VAT), was evidently not considered attractive by the sector's operators, who were already engaged in many other tenders in Italy, driven by both the NRP and the various building bonuses. Only one small party made an offer, but without providing proper documentation. All to be remade, then.

The 3.3-kilometre extension project will therefore continue to wait. It should have been ready years ago, but between the pandemic period and the lack of funds, the call for tenders was only opened last May. There had also been talk of using the NRP to cover any extra costs, but since it was a project that had already been drawn up and financed, no changes could be made.

However, the infrastructure cannot be abandoned, the national funding is now there, and for Milan it represents a crucial work. The management of Palazzo Marino has therefore written to the Ministry of Transport requesting a review of the project and the timeline. That is, they ask to keep the validity of the allocated fund until 30 November 2025 and to eliminate the construction of the depot, so as to recover about 60 million. The latter will then be realised separately, at a later date, with a new tender (and with other funds to be found, however).

The idea, therefore, is to open a new tender immediately, once the construction of the depot has been scrapped, maintaining the same auction base (but therefore with one less job to be done) and the same duration of the work, five years, in the hope of arriving slightly ahead of the schedule.